Dr. Leah Totton, the host of The Apprentice, has spoken out about her concerns about the ongoing cosmetic tourism epidemic and believes there needs to be more discussions in the field.
The Apprentice winner, Dr Leah Totton, has revealed her concerns surrounding cosmetic tourism. The businesswoman and practising doctor won the BBC programme in 2013, securing a business deal with Lord Alan Sugar.
Since then, Dr Leah, 37, graduated from the University of East Anglia in Norwich back in 2011 and later registered with the General Medical Council. Although the majority of The Apprentice participants have a detailed business plan, Dr. Leah didn’t take into account this.
One year after winning, Dr. Leah co-founded the Dr. Leah Clinic in central London, which she later expanded to include in Essex and London. The entrepreneurs later launched Dr Leah Skincare in October 2022 and turned over a hefty profit.
The businesswoman from Derry, Northern Ireland, has a passion for non-surgical cosmetic procedures, but she admits to being concerned about the growing cosmetic surgery tourism epidemic. Thousands of Brits travel abroad each year for less expensive cosmetic procedures, often for much less than what they would spend in the UK. But this comes with substantial risks.
“It’s really worrying, it’s a really worrying trend, a really concerning trend,” Dr Leah told the Mirror. She went on to add: “When you undergo surgery, it’s a very different risk, a general anaesthetic, which can cause its own huge risks, or significant risks at least. And the thing with non-surgical cosmetic injectables is that, for the most part, they are reversible.
” The surgery is a permanent change, and even the psychological sequelae of undergoing a permanent cosmetic change is something that you need to be supported through, counselled before, and there needs to be a thorough consultative process to make sure you’re a suitable candidate for the surgery, physically, psychologically and emotionally. That is a significant factor in my concern for people who visit cosmetic places.
In case something went wrong, Dr. Leah continued, highlighting the aftereffects of surgery abroad. However, she stressed that the quality of surgery isn’t always impacted, as there are” good surgeons who don’t work in the UK”, but other aspects sparked a concern for her.
She said, “I’ve had a lot of patients approach me who have had unfortunate facial and necklift experiences abroad and who want to help with the outcome.” Dr. Leah continued, “It’s very difficult to get a doctor in the UK to take on that case because it’s going through revisions, and your medical negligence insurance for it is substantial.
“If you’ve had a botched outcome abroad, you’re going to find it difficult to get a UK surgeon to take on that case, and patients need to be aware of that. The NHS will treat them in emergency situations, but it is not their responsibility to correct cosmetic treatment outcomes.”
With celebrities such as Katie Price often promoting cosmetic tourism, Dr Leah admits that she hopes that surgeons offer detailed examinations beforehand. “The driver for going abroad to have surgery is the price, it’s value-seeking,” she explained, adding: “If the same treatment was available in the UK, no one is going to put themselves through the risk or frankly the inconvenience of having to get a four-hour flight, stay at a hotel, fly back post-op. That’s not anyone’s first choice normally.
Why does medical tourism exist? The UK’s affordability is the issue. “Although Dr Leah practises in non-surgical cosmetics, she has raised her concerns over pricing with her surgeon colleagues”. Is it because of the rising risk of patients going abroad and the lack of affordability of surgery in the UK? She inquired.
Dr Leah admits that the press are” excellent “at highlighting the risks of cosmetic tourism and raising awareness of the risks people undergo on a regular basis, as people may often be naive of the risks involved”. She said before explaining that you may not be aware of the risks that come with a neck lift and tummy tuck and how much follow-up is necessary.
“We have cases where women have died while having that procedure, and raising awareness of the risks so that the general population can make better informed decisions, in my opinion, would reduce medical tourism.” But, Dr Leah says the industry has seen a huge advancement in non-surgical procedures, including treatment for neck and face sagging, using energy-based devices, threading and therapy – but neck-sagging can be difficult to treat non-surgically.
We’re launching our neck-sagging clinic in December, and we’re moving toward offering more surgical care. A lot of people don’t want to undergo surgical necklifts”, she said. The Derm division in Dr. Leah’s clinics, which includes mole checks and cosmetic mole removals, was established about five years ago, and these procedures have since become so popular because of the NHS’s soaring waiting lists.
The wellness division of her company includes IV drips, vitamin D injections, and NAD IV Infusion Therapy. This is a stark contrast from how Dr Leah started out in cosmetics, offering Botox, injectable fillers, to a full 360 wellness and cosmetic clinic.
Cosmetics have gained a lot in the last ten years, with Dr. Leah confirming that while the demand has increased, the demand has also increased. There was a significant backlash when Lord Sugar supported a Botox business when I first pitched it, even when I won the show. It was also somewhat stigmatized at the time.
” That stigma around having cosmetic injectables has been removed entirely in the UK, and it’s undertaken by a high volume of the population. She acknowledges that having tweakments and having them so frequently, or not using the appropriate treatments, is a “double-edged sword.”
She continued, “They end up having them done in more risky situations and can have disastrous outcomes,” adding that “I know it very well, there’s some great things about the cosmetic industry, but there’s some really worrying things as well.”
Dr. Leah worked in Accident & Emergency before becoming a cosmetics professional, but she admits it was a difficult decision to leave the NHS, even after winning the show. She claimed that she had stopped working part-time in her clinics and that she had actually left for three years before returning.
” I went back and did general practice in the NHS, I love both – I worked in the NHS up until Covid, “she explained. She will always find it advantageous to work in the NHS because of her experience, teamwork, clinical oversight, and leadership. It was a real learning curve working in business to become a hospital doctor or general practitioner. Alan Sugar, who was my business partner and mentor, I’m very close to him, he helped me alot in the business side of things. “
Dr. Leah remarked about her time on the program, saying, “I was 25 when it aired, and it just went so quickly. I believe you are aware that a significant portion of the success we’ve had with the clinics was due to timing because, at the time, the aesthetic industry was still very well-known. Luckily, we got in there at that point, and then the whole industry just boomed, and the business did as well, so it worked out. “
Dr. Leah plauds her business partner as “fabricant” and sees potential in her, which has greatly helped me in business. She continued, “I didn’t enter The Apprentice with any business acumen or experience, so I learned as we worked on sites and clinic openings.
“I’m incredibly grateful for him and for, you know, for the knowledge that he gave me and for the support that he showed me. Thankfully, Dr. Leah Clinics and I managed to work together to be incredibly successful. He appears on television as he is. That is not an act, that is him. But, you’re aware, he’s a fantastic businessman and mentor. I’m very appreciative of him.
But could she see herself returning to the show as a mentor? She gushed, “I would love to,” before revealing that she is a huge fan of Baroness Karren Brady and isn’t “just yet” looking for a job. Who knows for sure, one day? It’s something I’d definitely consider, or something similar”.
Source: Mirror
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